


Bowser and Peach: A Love Story

by rynling



Category: Super Mario & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-23
Updated: 2014-09-23
Packaged: 2018-02-18 12:46:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2348909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rynling/pseuds/rynling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A sweet and simple love story with castles, magic, a princess, and a curse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Fairy Tale Princess

Peach was everything a princess is supposed to be. She was pretty and smart, and she looked good in pink. Her eyes were big and blue, her nose was small and cute, and her long, honey-colored hair kicked up in flares that framed her heart-shaped face. 

Peach's mother had passed away when she was a small girl, so her father, the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, lavished all his attention on the young princess. Nothing was too good for his little girl. Her tutors were all famous professors from the illustrious Mushroom University. Her riding coaches were former winners of the Toadstool Cup Championship. Her governess, an elderly mushroom maid, taught her everything she needed to know in order to become a perfect lady. Peach toured the kingdom annually with Toadsworth, the court's High Magician. Everywhere she went, her father's subjects would come out of their mushroom houses and throw flowers at her feet. Everyone loved the princess, yet she remained sweet and gentle.

When Peach reached her sixteenth year, she was given more freedom to roam around the castle. Her family's ancestral home was ancient and vast, with many secret passageways and hidden chambers. Some rooms were filled with magic, and opening their doors would lead to strange and interesting places. One room was filled with snow and an ice city that glimmered like crystal. Another door opened onto a vast sea, with the ruins of a half-sunken tower visible on the horizon. Peach couldn't wait until she came of age. Not only would she ascend the throne to rule alongside her father, but she would also begin magic lessons with Toadsworth. 

That was still a few years away, so for the time being Peach contented herself with exploring the lower portion of the castle, where the servants lived and worked. In contrast to the starry ceilings and glittering chandeliers of the upper palace, the rooms near the castle's foundation had a closer and warmer feel. The narrow hallways were fragrant with the scent of fresh laundry and the aroma of the food being prepared in the great kitchens. Whenever the princess descended to visit, she would always be greeted fondly and given sweets. Since it was lonely in the lofty halls above, Peach found her way into the servant's quarters more and more as she grew older. 

One evening, after an important meeting with a visiting nobleshroom, Peach headed down into the kitchens to search for leftovers. Even though the audience had been catered, Peach had hardly eaten a thing. Her father had done most of the talking, but Peach was nervous about her role as a princess and had tried bravely to keep up with the half-spoken innuendos tossed back and forth over the dinner table. As soon as the meeting was adjourned, she realized that her nervousness had not dulled her appetite. On her way through the twisting passageways of the lower castle, she happened to notice a clammy, wet smell. Following her nose to its source, she came upon a small door opening onto a set of mossy steps. 

Ever curious, Peach stepped across the threshold and made her way carefully down the staircase, trailing her hand along the damp stone wall. After a few twists and turns, she entered a vast chamber filled with enormous metal pipes. Kneeling in the light thrown by a lantern set on the floor was a young man wearing blue overalls, work boots, and a faded red shirt. He appeared to be scrutinizing a set of diagrams spread out on the floor in front of him. He was mumbling softly to himself.

"Excuse me…" Peach ventured. 

"Ah!" The young man, startled, sprang to his feet, overturning the lantern at his side. The flame dimmed for a brief moment before he caught hold of the lantern and stood up, getting his first good look at his visitor. "Princess!" 

"Who are you? What are you doing here? What is this place?" asked Peach, looking around in amazement. 

"Ah, um," he stammered, suddenly aware of his uncouth appearance. 

"What is your name?"

"My name is Mario, Your Highness. I'm the son of the plumber who engineered the castle pipes."

Peach gazed at the young man. He was still skinny with youth, but his arms and shoulders spoke of strength and endurance. His hands were big and awkward, and his black hair hung untidily around his face. He had a prominent nose, but it looked handsome on his round, boyish face. The shadow of a beard tinged his cheeks and jaw. His eyes were dark blue, like the night sky. He stood there bashfully, waiting for an approving response. Peach blushed and looked away. 

"I wasn't aware that the castle had so many pipes. What are they here for?" Indeed, they were a sight to behold. They were fashioned out of a metallic substance that shone green in the lamplight. Some of them looked big enough to crawl into.

"Well, you see," Mario started, pleased to have found a subject he could easily discuss, "we're right up under the kitchen here, right? Well, these pipes serve the kitchen. Some of them bring in water from the river upstream, and others dump the kitchen waste into the river downstream. There are other pipes in other parts of the castle too, you know. Some control the level of the water in the castle moat, and some take care of, uh," he paused, "other types of waste. You know."

Peach didn't know, but she had a vague idea. "And your father built these?" she asked.

"Well, um," Mario stammered, overcome with a sudden modesty, "my dad designed them, and a whole slew of people helped to build them. This is before I was born, of course. Now they've all gotten old and leaky," he gestured with the lantern, throwing light onto the pipe maze, "so my old man sent me and my brother to make repairs."

"Your brother? Is he in there? Right now?" Peach pointed toward the pipes.

"In… there? Oh, no!" Mario replied, laughing. "He got hungry and decided to go upstairs to get something to eat."

Peach was charmed by Mario. She was charmed by his lowtown accent, by his arcane knowledge, and, most of all, by his deep blue eyes, which danced in the flickering light. 

"I was just about to get something to eat myself. Would you mind accompanying me?" she asked, grinning.

"The pleasure is all mine." This time Mario blushed and looked away.


	2. The Princess and the Plumber

A year passed. Peach grew into an even more charming and vivacious young woman. She was seventeen, and the various ministers and nobleshrooms started to take notice of her. It was time to introduce their sons to court, and perhaps their daughters could enter the princess's retinue of ladies and toadstool maids in waiting. The princess was indeed a peach, soft and tender, glowing with happiness.

Mario, of course, was hopelessly in love with her. He did his best to find excuses to visit the palace despite the fact that his repairs of the kitchen pipes had been so extensively completed that he no longer had any reason to linger there. Fortunately for him, he had inherited his father's genius for engineering; and, even though he was young, the councilors to the royal family welcomed his suggestions and funded his projects.

He was accompanied everywhere by his younger brother Luigi, who acted as Mario's manager, drafting his plans and overseeing their execution. Luigi was taller, sharper, and more conventionally handsome than his older brother. He also had a certain way with words, and many people mistook him for the elder of the two. Mario, who masked his adoration of Peach with a professional distance, was at first worried that Luigi would steal away the heart of his princess. To Mario's great relief, however, Luigi promptly began a clandestine affair with Peach's cousin, a young noblewoman named Daisy.

Peach, a year older and a year closer to her ascension, had become increasingly involved with the affairs of the Mushroom Kingdom. One of her duties was to serve as a liaison between the court and the two Mario brothers, who had started to gather fame across the land. She relished her meetings with Mario, which were held in less formal spaces as time went by. Sitting across from each other at a low wooden table in the kitchens, perched on the ledge below a stained-glass window, or letting their feet soak in the mountain hot springs contained within one of the castle's magic rooms, the pair would discuss pipes, drainage, and water pressure. Peach would gossip about court affairs and gush about how eager she was to begin studying magic with Toadsworth.

One day, Luigi, emerging from the ladies' quarters in the upper reaches of the castle's east tower, casually remarked to Peach that his brother would soon become a year older. Peach blushed and immediately set about making preparations.

A princess's celebration of a plumber's birthday is not generally met with enthusiasm, unfortunately, so Peach had to content herself with merely calling Mario in for a routine repair. This particular repair, however, concerned the princess's private quarters, so she was free to be alone with Mario for as long as she wished. They chatted with each other as he tinkered with this and that, and, when he was done, Peach escorted him into the main bedroom and presented him with a package that she had hidden under her pillow.

"Here, I know it's your birthday, and I want you to have this."

Mario, who was too surprised to produce niceties such as "No, you shouldn't have" or "I couldn't possibly accept this," simply accepted the package from Peach, being very careful not to touch her hands as he did so. He blushed deeply and kept his eyes set firmly on a point approximately two inches above Peach's right ankle. Still glancing down, he unwrapped the package carefully. Inside was a floppy red hat with an "M" stitched in white above the bill.

Peach giggled as the cap came into view from beneath Mario's fingers. "Do you like it? All the nobles are wearing them these days. It's just a small thing, but I couldn't help wondering how it would look on you. Why don't you try it on?"

Mario smiled and adjusted the cap on his head before striking a gallant pose. "How do I look? Noble?"

Peach laughed. "Absolutely. It suits you."

"Well then," Mario boasted, "that settles it. Now I can come to the court balls as a dashing prince. What do you say?"

"A prince? That's a big responsibility. Princes have to worry about rescuing the princess, you know. Are you up for that?"

"I would rescue you," Mario said quietly, suddenly serious. "No matter what, I would come and rescue you. I would cross oceans and jump through fire to make sure you were safe."

Peach smiled. "You know, I think you're the only real friend I have here. My ladies in waiting are just paid to be in my service, and the noblemen are only interested in the throne. It's always so nice to talk to you. I'm glad I met you."

Mario met her eyes and didn't say anything for a long time. Finally, he broke the silence.

"I should get going. Thank you for the gift, Princess. Until we meet again."

And with that, he turned and left.

As soon as the door swung shut behind him, Daisy poked her head out of an adjoining room.

"Oh, that's too bad that he left. Things were just starting to get steamy, too."

Peach shrieked and, laughing, ran to chase her cousin.


	3. Through the Night Sky

It was late in the evening when Peach returned to her room in the east tower. Her coronation ceremony had been held that morning. Since the moment her mother's tiara was placed on her head, she had been whisked away to a constant stream of ceremonies and banquets, complete with an exhausting array of costume changes. The highlight of her day, however, had been when Daisy had pointed to one of the balconies overlooking the Mushroom Hall, where Mario and Luigi waved to her. Peach hummed to herself as she brushed her hair and thought of her first magic lesson, which would be conducted by the High Magician Toadsworth early in the morning.

She suddenly became aware of a dull throbbing noise like summer thunder. Before she had a chance to turn, the window of her bedroom crashed open. The ensuing gust of wind blew out the candles on Peach's dresser, leaving her in almost total darkness. Confused, the princess walked toward the window, wondering about strange weather and sudden storms. As Peach drew closer, she noticed that the night outside was unusually dark. As she reached out to the windowsill, she realized that the darkness was a gigantic shadow.

Peach screamed and tripped over the hem of her dress as she turned to run. She didn't see the shadow climb in through the window, but she knew it had come for her when she was confronted with two blazing red eyes and a mouth full of enormous, razor-sharp teeth. Peach tried to scream once more, but everything grew heavy and numb as her consciousness fled.

* * * * *

When she woke up, Peach found herself bound to a chair. Her first sensation was the wind teasing the fringes of her hair. When she opened her eyes, she couldn't believe what she saw. She was flying through the air, with nothing in front of her but a single glass screen. She gasped in amazement.

"Oh, so you're awake," a voice rumbled beside her.

She glanced towards the voice and felt her breath catch in her throat. Sitting close beside her was the thing that had come for her in the night. She could see it clearly in the moonlight – it seemed to be some sort of enormous turtle studded with horns and capped with a spiky shell. A mane of hair sprung from its head, but the rest of its body was covered in scales. Its giant hands, tipped with cruel claws, grasped some sort of two-pronged device.

"I wasn't aware that people still fainted," the creature remarked as it glanced at her out of the corner of its eyes.

Peach tried to rise from her seat but was restrained by the cords crossed over her waist and chest. "What is the meaning of this? Unbind me!"

The creature growled in an uneven way that could be interpreted as laughter. "That's called a seatbelt. I fastened you in so that you wouldn't go flying away if we hit air turbulence. You can take it off if you unlatch the buckle on your right hip, but I wouldn't recommend it. We're pretty high up, and there isn't much below us."

"So we really are flying," Peach responded, momentarily forgetting her predicament. "How are you doing this? Is it magic?"

"No, you idiot girl; it's not magic," the thing grumbled through its teeth, starting straight ahead. "But of course you would think that, coming from your backwards kingdom. I bet you peons still get your water from a well and shit into holes in the ground."

"Absolutely not!" Peach fumed, flustered by the sudden accusation. "We have pipes!"

"Ha! Good for you. Maybe you'll invent toilet paper soon."

The creature's impertinence was galling. Peach held her silence.

"In any case, we're riding in a hovercraft. It's kind of like an upside-down helicopter."

"A heli-what?" Peach was incredulous.

"Well, you know," the creature said. It removed one of its hands from the instrument in front of it and combed its claws through its mane. Its hair, Peach noted, was a dull shade of red.

"A helicopter floats in the air because of the fan blade above it, right? Well, in a hovercraft, the blade is underneath the carriage. When we started out, we had the fan behind the car. That took the thing off the ground, but we couldn't control the altitude. Besides, it was too noisy. This model has its problems, but I suppose it'll do for kidnapping a princess."

"Is that what you're doing? Well, you don't know who you're messing with. I order you to release me this instant!"

This time, the thing really did laugh. It threw its head back against its shell and let out a deep, strangely melodious sound. Peach could see its fangs glistening in the moonlight.

"A noble speech, Your Highness, but I don't think you want to be released right now. In case you haven't noticed, we're flying a few hundred feet above the ocean. If I released you, the first thing I'd have to do would be to rescue you. Besides, you're in this for the long haul."

The creature glanced at Peach and then lowered the hovercraft until the horizon came into view. He pointed straight ahead to a point beyond the windshield. Peach squinted, and she thought she could make out lights rising from a monstrous structure.

"We're headed for the Koopa Kingdom. My name is Bowser, and I'm the king. You'll be living in my castle from now on, and you might as well get used to it. After all, we're going to be married."


	4. Dungeons and Dragons

Princess Peach was silent for the rest of the ride. There had to be way out of this mess, but she couldn't think of it at the moment. A giant turtle named Bowser had kidnapped her using some sort of flying machine called a hovercraft. He was the king of a country called the Koopa Kingdom, and he intended to marry her. Peach distracted herself from these unpleasant thoughts by reviewing her history lessons in her head. She was sure of it: she had never heard of a place called "Koopa Kingdom." Although perhaps Toadsworth had mentioned something...

"We're almost there," Bowser announced, breaking the silence. "It might get a little rough, so make sure you're strapped in. If you start to feel sick, bow your head and close your eyes. We don't need you puking on the dashboard."

Peach turned to him, surprised by his concern for her, however inappropriate his choice of words may have been. Bowser, however, was occupied with other things. He seemed to be adjusting a set of lights on the panel in front of him. As the hovercraft dropped in altitude, an enormous monstrosity of a fortress began to loom above the small vehicle. Peach didn't allow herself the luxury of wishful thinking. She knew that this was their destination. She would find some way to get herself out of this, somehow.

As the hovercraft came to a halt in the castle's stone courtyard, several figures approached with ropes. Peach noted with awe that these things were turtles, too. She assumed that the ropes were for her. When the craft was almost touching the ground, Bowser jumped out. Peach screamed when the vessel suddenly sprang a few feet into the air.

"Get this thing secured, will you?" Bowser ordered as he reached up and, by sheer brute force, pulled the craft back down.

The lesser turtles bustled into action, loosely knotting their ropes through holes in the craft's hull and tying them through iron rings attached to the stones of the courtyard. They glanced at Peach with wonder in their eyes. She was surprised to find that these creatures were not nearly as frightening as Bowser. They were shorter and less massive. Instead of fangs and claws, they had beaks and chubby fingers. Although Peach couldn't see clearly in the faint light of the cloudy moon, they appeared to have different-colored shells. If Bowser was a monster, then these were pets. 

"Here, you can get out now." Bowser appeared at her side. He adjusted a section of the hull so that it collapsed downward into steps. "Remember what I said about unbuckling yourself. The clasp is on your hip."

Peach fumbled with the buckle before finally freeing herself. As soon as she stood up, all of the blood in her head rushed down to her feet, and she began to black out again.

Bowser caught her neatly. His enormous hand wrapped around her waist, and he picked her up like a toy before setting her on the ground next to the hovercraft.

"It looks like we got a delicate one here," he remarked, frowning at her. He turned to the lesser turtles. "The princess is fatigued from the journey. You, make sure her room is prepared. You, notify the kitchen to have a meal delivered. And you, make sure this thing is refueled before it goes back in the hangar." His words sent the turtles scattering across the courtyard and into the castle.

"What are those things called?" Peach asked, buying time until she felt secure on her feet.

"Things? Ah. I guess we can't very well can't call ourselves people, so we call ourselves Koopa. The word used to mean a citizen of this kingdom, but now we use it to refer to ourselves as a race. I suppose there's no difference."

Confused by his words, Peach glanced upwards to question him, but Bowser was looking at the moon. Taking advantage of the situation, Peach darted her eyes around the courtyard, searching for a means of escape.

"It won't do you any good," Bowser remarked. "You're stuck here. No one gets in or out, except through the front door. Now, if you don't mind, I'll escort you to your room in the dungeon. Follow me, or I'll have to carry you."

Peach, exhausted and bewildered, had no choice but to follow Bowser, who stalked off ahead of her. When they entered the castle, Peach was taken aback by the sheer ugliness of the structure. Even though the floor was cobbled with smooth river stones, the walls were composed of a grainy gray substance that looked cheaply manufactured and uncomfortable to touch. Instead of fire or candlelight, the halls were illuminated by some sort of flares set into the walls, which radiated a pale, sickly light that made everything appear vaguely green. There were no windows, and the air was muggy. The only smell was the gritty odor of stone.

Peach walked in silence, trying not to notice the way the way that the light shone on the spikes of Bowser's shell. He was easily a good two or three feet taller than her, and, if he stopped suddenly without her noticing, she would almost certainly injure herself on his shell. To distract herself, Peach marked how his tail, also spiked, dragged along the ground. It was almost pathetic, in a way.

Bowser led Peach up several sets of staircases. He had said that he was leading her to the dungeon. Weren't they supposed to be going down? Was he going to torture her first? Even worse, were they going to his room to be... married?

"Excuse me, but didn't you say you were taking me to the dungeon?" Peach asked peevishly.

"That was merely a figure of speech. Your rooms will be in one of the castle towers. My people aren't as warm-blooded as we'd like to be, so we can no longer occupy the upper regions of the castle. You'll have the place more or less to yourself. I can't imagine you'd object to this arrangement."

Peach, relieved, did not object. She simply followed Bowser up another flight of stairs. The precise nature of her situation had begun to dawn on her, and she struggled not to cry. Bowser led her to a door at the end of a hallway. As they approached, the door opened, and out spilled a ray of warm light, as well as two lavender-shelled Koopa.

They bowed. "The room is ready, King Bowser."

Bowser nodded and stood next to the door with the two maids, waiting for Peach to enter. She tentatively stepped across the threshold. Although the room could not match her quarters at the Mushroom Palace, Peach was surprised to find that it was equipped with furnishings that suited a noblewoman. A human noblewoman. She strode across the room and sat down on the bed.

"How do you like it?" Bowser asked, from outside the door, bemused.

"It's cold in here."

"Perhaps I can do something about that," Bowser entered the room.

Peach feared the worst. "What can you do about anything, you stupid turtle?" She could no longer restrain her tears.

Bowser did not appear to be taken aback in the slightest. "I prefer 'dragon,'" he said as he positioned himself in front of the fireplace. "Watch this."

Peach saw him bend forward, open his mouth, and exhale a thick jet of fire onto the logs. They burst into flame instantly. Peach was too exhausted to be surprised, however, so she just lay down on top of the covers.

A Koopa dressed in chef's whites entered the room, dragging behind him a cart filled with covered trays. "Where shall I put these, Your Majesty?"

Bowser turned to look at Peach. Her breathing was deep and even.

"You might as well take them back down," he sighed, looking through one of the open windows. The light of dawn had begun to tinge the edges of the sky a pale blue.


	5. An Enchanted Castle

Peach slept through the entirety of the day. Occasionally, she would open her eyes, realize that she wasn't in her own bed, and will herself back to sleep. She didn't want to face the agony of waking up and coming to terms with her situation.

"Wake up."

It was a man's voice, surprisingly young, giving her an order. What in the world?

"Wake up. It's already nine in the morning. I don't want you to get jetlag."

Jetlag? Peach turned toward the voice and opened her eyes. She immediately felt an urge to scream. Crouching at her bedside was the same monster that had stolen her from her room and whisked her away across an ocean. Horns and claws, fangs and scales. Bowser. Peach bit her tongue, hard.

Bowser simply looked bored. "I imagine you need to eat. Before we head down, perhaps I ought to show you how the bathroom works."

Peach sat up in bed. At some point, someone had tucked her under the covers and dressed her in a silk nightgown. Her cheeks burned red.

"How dare you presume to do such a thing?"

"Fine, suit yourself. We'll see if you can figure it out on your own. Good luck."

Bowser stood up and turned away. He would leave the care and handling of Peach to her maids, the two lavender-shelled Koopa.

Peach took one look at Bowser's spiky shell and quickly lowered herself from the other side of the bed. Thankfully, that side faced an open room, which Peach assumed to be the bathroom. She fought the urge to run in and lock the door behind her. When she arrived at the doorway of the bathroom after a stately stroll, she gasped. Nothing was what it should have been. Even if the bed was meant for a human, the bathroom was obviously not.

She heard Bowser's voice from the other side of the room. "Do you need my help yet?"

She said nothing as Bowser padded up behind her. "Excuse me," he said. She stepped out of his way.

He plodded into the bathroom. Peach noticed that he looked extremely out of place in the room, which was filled with shining white porcelain and rosy pink marble.

"To begin with, this is the toilet." He lifted a cover off a low, white chair. "You sit here," he pointed, "and you pull this lever when you're done." He demonstrated. "This is the sink." He stepped over to a marble counter. "To turn on the water, twist this lever." He gestured, glancing at Peach to make sure she understood. Her eyes were wide with amazement. "To turn it off, twist it back. One lever will give you hot water; the other, cold. I'm sure you can figure out which one is which. Next we have the bath." Bowser walked across the gleaming white floor and stopped next to a raised platform. "Come over here," he gestured.

Peach was so overcome with wonder that she did. She momentarily forgot that she was standing next to a dragon wearing nothing a nightgown. Even in her castle filled with pipes, she had never seen anything like this. 

"This is the bathtub." The platform was, in fact, a large basin. "You turn the water on like you did with the sink." He demonstrated. "This knob stops the drain so that the bath will fill." Again he demonstrated. "The shower is over there." He pointed to a small, glass enclosure. "It works the same way. You seem to be a smart girl; I'm sure you'll manage. These bottles and canisters contain various soaps and lotions. Being a princess, I'm sure you can figure those out, too." An amused smirk spread across his broad mouth. "In any case, your maids will have fresh clothes waiting for you when you're finished."

Taking a few steps toward the door, he opened an overhead cabinet, pulled out some towels, and offered them to Peach. Seeing that she wasn't about to take them from him, he placed them on the marble counter. The spacious room suddenly felt very small to Peach. Without saying a word, Bowser turned and left, closing the door behind him. Peach walked over to the counter and placed her hand on the pile of towels. They were the softest things she had ever felt in her life. She picked them up, buried her face in the fabric, and cried.


	6. Black Magic

When Peach emerged from the bathroom, the two Koopa greeted her. One took her hand and led her to the bed, on top of which lay a pink dress.

When she had finished dressing, the two maids bowed and, giggling to each other, left the room. Bowser entered a second later. Peach saw that his hair was an unnaturally bright shade of red in the sunlight.

"Have you been waiting all this time?"

"Unfortunately, I have. If you're quite ready, I think it's time for you to eat. Please come with me."

Peach flared with anger.

"How can you act as if everything is normal? Didn't you just kidnap me? Didn't you threaten to marry me? When is that going to happen?"

Bowser's eyes flashed.

"Don't kid yourself, princess. I didn't bring you here to marry you. That's just what I wrote in the ransom note I left in your bedroom."

"A ransom note? So this is about money? You kidnapped me for money?"

"I most certainly did not. If you want to know the truth of the matter, I have no intention of returning you to the Mushroom Kingdom. I kidnapped you to start a war."

"That's utter nonsense. Why would you do such a thing?"

"So that everyone single one of your countrymen can die a miserable death on foreign soil, Princess."

"So that's it. That's it. You're insane. Great. I'm stuck in an architectural nightmare with a crazy talking turtle and his crazy turtle friends. Wonderful. Tell me, why is it that you want to start a war? Did you get bored with your little hovercraft?"

"Don't be impudent, Princess. Your life means nothing to me. I'm keeping you alive as a courtesy. But if your dead body would provoke a war that much faster, then so be it."

This was the first time that Peach had seen Bowser express anything other than carefully moderated boredom. Even though she knew he was grossly at fault, she couldn't help but feel as if she had wronged him in some way.

"I'm sorry." After Peach had spoken, a heavy silence hung in the air.

Bowser eventually relaxed his posture and sighed. "I'm the one who should apologize. I kidnapped you, and I'm holding you prisoner. I at least owe you an explanation."

"Our kingdom was attacked fifteen years ago. We received no warning, and our land was devastated. Not just our castles, but our homes and farms and factories were destroyed. In a few short days, our population was reduced by more than half. Due to the nature of the attack, we were able to  determine that it was launched by your kingdom."

Peach was dumbfounded. "And what was the nature of the attack?"

"In short, we were all turned into nonhuman creatures. Many members of the older generation went insane and began destroying everything around them. A good number of those who kept their sanity died shortly after as a result of not knowing how to stay alive. Depression claimed many others. A number of those who survived the initial aftereffects ended up dying within a few years anyway. In this form, our natural lifespan is half of what it once was. Those of us who were very young when the catastrophe hit have managed to live on, but this kingdom is doomed. The only thing we can do now is avenge ourselves."

Peach couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I don't understand. What does this have to do with the Mushroom Kingdom?"

"Magic. The only thing that could have done this was magic, and your kingdom is the only place in the known world whose rulers openly embrace the power of magic."

"You idiot!" Peach snapped. "Why couldn't you have waited a year or two? If you had waited, then I would be able to use magic, too! If you had waited, then maybe I could have reversed the spell myself!" Peach's anger drove her to make this bold statement, which she wasn't certain she actually believed. Bowser did not respond to her, and it didn't seem as if he gave much credence to her words, either.

Peach could not bring herself to deny Bowser's accusations. She had seen High Magician Toadsworth perform a similar spell on a sentenced convict when she was a little girl. And why hadn't she ever been taught about the Koopa Kingdom, which was only a night's journey away from the Mushroom Kingdom? She couldn't believe that Toadsworth would do such a thing. She couldn't believe that her father would allow such a thing. Despite her earlier show of bravery, the princess could no longer control her emotions. Although she willed herself to remain silent, teardrops began to leak out of the corner of her eyes.

Bowser seemed embarrassed. He raked his claws through his hair. He stepped closer to Peach and raised his hand, as if to comfort her in some way. After a second of indecision, he withdrew his gesture and contented himself with a conciliatory statement.

"Listen, we'll talk about this later. I shouldn't have spoken as I did. I came up to invite you to breakfast. It would give me great pleasure if you would attend."

"It doesn't matter," Peach said under her breath. "It doesn't matter what you do. None of this matters. Mario will come and rescue me."


	7. Where There's a Will

Three days had passed since Peach disappeared. Although the kingdom had initially been plunged into an uproar, the atmosphere at the palace was strangely placid. The consensus seemed to be that the princess had vanished into one of the magical rooms hidden within the castle walls and had somehow gotten lost. High Magician Toadsworth led the search through the various enchanted doorways, but the rescue efforts had so far proven fruitless. Both the king and the people held sufficient trust in Toadsworth to not launch a full-scale search outside of the castle. It had not occurred to anyone that the princess might have been kidnapped.

Or perhaps it had occurred to one person. Mario was beside himself with worry over Peach. Although he had seemed confident that the princess would be quickly returned, or rather, that she would quickly return herself, as the days passed Mario began to display signs of anxiety.

"Peach wouldn't have gotten herself lost in some magic room. She knows this castle better than anyone else," Mario explained to Luigi and Daisy. "If she had some sort of accident, we would have found her by now. I just can't believe it. Why am I the only one who's upset in this entire kingdom?" He raised his voice, throwing his hands wide.

Luigi frowned. "You're not the only one who's upset. Can't you see that we're worried, too? And those rooms are infinite. No one has ever explored all of them, not even the princess."

"Besides," Daisy added, "time passes differently on the other side of those doors. Peach probably got drunk at the coronation ceremony and wandered off in a flight of fancy. More than likely, she's snoring away under an enormous toadstool on the dark side of the moon. I'm sure she'll find her own way back when she wakes up."

Luigi laughed and gave Daisy a salacious look from the corner of his eyes. "You know, one of these days I'd like to get you drunk and spend some quality time on the dark side of the moon."

Daisy's flirtatious giggles were cut short by Mario. "Are you two serious? She's been gone for three days. Three days! She could be hurt, or starving. Even worse, she could be lost somewhere far away from the castle! What about the hinges of her bedroom window? Daisy, didn't you say that you haven't been able to shut it properly since Peach disappeared? What if someone broke it?"

Luigi was surprised by the change that had come over his normally taciturn older brother. "I don't understand," he started, cautiously. "Are you suggesting that someone climbed the tower, broke into the window from the outside, and then spirited the princess away? That's ridiculous. You'd have to have wings to do that. Her window must be a good three hundred feet off the ground, and it looks straight down over the castle moat. No one could get into her room except by magic – or a magical flying machine – and the High Magician would have been able to detect magic." Mario looked as if he wanted to interject, but he could find no words to refute his younger brother's argument.

"You know," Daisy mused, "I do think it's rather strange that no one seems to be in a panic over Peach's disappearance. I mean, she was just crowned, right? She was scheduled to perform a tour of duty around the Mushroom Kingdom. If she's missing, then all sorts of audiences would have had to have been canceled, and the entire kingdom would know that she's disappeared. Why isn't everyone out looking for her? Now that I think about it, Mario, it is kind of weird. I'm ashamed to say this, but it hasn't even crossed my mind to start looking for her myself, or even to ask Toadsworth how the search is going."

"And you know what?" Daisy turned to Luigi, absently tugging at a lock of her hair as she avoided looking at either of the two brothers. "I can't for the life of me understand why, but I have a memory at the back of my mind that I can't quite catch hold of. On the night of the coronation ceremony, I remember being woken by a strange noise. It was almost like, I don't know. I can't find the words. Like a growling, maybe? Like a vibration. It was coming from, oh, I just can't remember! It sounded like it was coming from everywhere."

As Daisy seemed to be on the verge of tears, Luigi pulled her to him, and she buried her face under his chin. Luigi looked at Mario from over her head. "I haven't been worried, either. That does seem odd, doesn't it?"

Mario said nothing.

Luigi continued, "Perhaps the idea of a magical flying machine isn't so farfetched after all. What Daisy seems to be describing is the sound of a motor. I don't think this is that widely known in the Mushroom Kingdom, but I remember our father muttering something about an island kingdom with an extraordinarily advanced level of technology a few days' journey to the east by sea. I've always thought it was one of the fantasies of his old age, but he seemed fairly convinced. The other workmen refuse to say anything about it, which I find suspicious. Do you think that maybe...?"

Mario nodded. He had heard the rumor from his father himself, and the idea had been nagging at him ever since he had discovered the broken window. The Mushroom Kingdom was at peace with all of its neighbors, but if there were a mysterious country across the eastern ocean that no one would speak of, might it not be a land filled with vicious barbarians willing to kidnap a princess at the slightest pretext? He was relieved to hear Luigi confirm his suspicions.

"In any case," he said to Luigi, nervously twisting his red embroidered cap in his hands, "I don't think it would hurt to go looking for her. I can hire a boat from the harbor, and someone at the docks might have seen or heard something. Hanging around this castle is starting to give me the creeps. I'm going."

"Right now?" Luigi asked. Daisy turned to look at Mario.

Mario nodded.

"Do you think you'll find her?"

"I'll find her. I don't care what I have to do; I'll find her."

With that, Mario put his cap on his head, turned, and walked off.

Daisy looked up at Luigi. "That's so romantic! Would you go off to find me, if I disappeared?"

Luigi lowered his cheek to hers and spoke into her ear in a low voice. "Of course not. I would expect you to rescue yourself in time to be back before I came to visit you."

Daisy sighed. "What is it we were so worried about just a few seconds ago?"

"I have no idea," Luigi whispered absentmindedly before bringing his lips to hers.


	8. Peach in the Koopa Kingdom

Almost a week had passed since Bowser brought Peach to his seaside castle. There had been no word from the Mushroom Kingdom. This seemed to infuriate Bowser to no end. Peach didn't need to ask him if any news had come from home; he complained directly to her, all the while petulantly insulting her kingdom. Although Peach refused to respond to Bowser's taunts, she was amused by his irritation; he was like a lover who hadn't yet received a reply from his intended.

Peach had quickly ascertained that she was under no danger of physical harm in the Koopa Kingdom. Bowser's servants seemed fascinated by her, always finding excuses to talk to her.

Truth be told, Peach was rather enjoying herself. Compared to the official travels she had expected to undergo after her coronation, being kidnapped was like a vacation. Not only was she allowed to luxuriate in her lavish bathroom, but she had also been provided with an astounding array of clothing, all of which was quite different than what she was used to wearing at home. For Peach, slipping out of the uncomfortable fashions she had worn in the Mushroom Kingdom was like slipping into another life.

The food of the Koopa Kingdom was delicious. Peach had been surprised to find that the local cuisine was entirely vegetarian, but she supposed that was only fitting, considering that this was a nation of turtles. Bowser, despite his fearsome teeth and claws, ate alongside her while explaining the various ingredients. Occasionally the chef would come out of the kitchen and offer his own commentary before asking Peach about the food served in her home castle. He seemed interested in the princess's descriptions of mushroom people and seemed perplexed about the existence of walking, talking fungi, which Peach found ironic coming from a walking, talking turtle.

Bowser seemed to be busy, often skipping meals, but once a day he found the time to show her a different part of the castle, from the wide balcony overlooking the ocean to a library illuminated with the variegated light streaming through stained-glass windows. He patiently explained technologies such as electricity and refrigeration, all the while inordinately proud of the technology.

One day he took her outside the castle and into an enormous structure that he called a hangar. The space was filled with wires, steam, and the cacophony of drills and hammers. The Koopa here wore gloves and goggles and seemed too engrossed in their work to acknowledge the presence of the king. As the pair strolled through the maze of machinery, Bowser pointed out various projects, all of which seemed utterly fantastical to Peach. Finally, Bowser came to a stop in front of a large desk covered in paper.

"Come over here, let me show you" he said to her, shuffling through the sheaves of paper. Peach tentatively walked to his side.

"This is my dream project," he said, flattening a blue piece of parchment on top of the desk with his claws. Peach was bemused. She could see the outline of a ship drawn in chalk, certainly, but what in the world was the disproportionately large oval ballooning over it?

"This is an airship," he said, answering her unspoken question. "Just as helium will cause a balloon to rise into the sky, a sack filled with the gas, if it's large enough, should be able to raise a passenger craft into the air. Unfortunately, helium is costly to produce, and hydrogen has proven to be extremely flammable. Also, we haven't yet discovered a suitable material for the balloon. So this one's still in the planning stage. If we could develop a prototype, we'd no longer have any use for fossil-fueled hovercrafts, and everyone could travel by air." As he spoke to her, Bowser's eyes shone, and Peach could feel his enthusiasm start to affect her. She leaned in closer to study the design.

By the end of the first week, however, Bowser was clearly restless.

"Your kingdom," he ranted, "can't even figure out how to use carrier pigeons. How do you people even communicate with each other? You'd think they'd have an armada rushing to rescue you. Surely you've invented boats by now?"

Peach, cupping her chin in her hands, grinned. She had seen no preparations for war inside Bowser's castle, and she had learned to accept his threats of aggression as mere venting. With its superior technology, this kingdom could be dangerous, but Bowser didn't seem like the tyrant his appearance and words would suggest.

Peach decided to tease him. "You know, I'm not worried in the slightest. Mario will rescue me."

"Mario?" he laughed. "What a silly name. Is he a famous general?"

"No, he's a plumber."

"A plumber."

"Yes. But he said he would rescue me, if I were ever in trouble, and I know he will."

"Ah, I see." Bowser's face fell. A few moments passed before he spoke again, his expression grave. "A knight errant, on a quest to save the princess from the evil dragon. One can never be too cautious when it comes to plumbers. In that case, I will have to make preparations. I will instruct my cousins to fill their castle moats with lava and construct traps to waylay him. The roads of the kingdom will be patrolled by foot soldiers, and I will assemble an army of paratroopers to keep watch for this brave soul, Mario."

Bowser stood up suddenly, knocking over his chair. He raised his right hand into the air, as if swearing an oath. "Mario will never have you, Princess! I, King Bowser, have kidnapped you, and I will see to it that he never reaches this castle!"

Peach laughed appreciatively. Even having only known him for a week, she understood that Bowser would never do such a thing. And, even if he did, Mario would still come to rescue her.


	9. By the Light of the Sun

Having knocked over his seat in his ardent declaration of villainy, Bowser strode over to Peach. He grabbed the back of her chair and turned it to face him.

"If the Mushroom Kingdom hasn't sent word about your rescue by this point, they probably aren't going to today," he said, his teeth shining as he grinned. "I'm getting tried of waiting around the castle. Let's go outside! What do you say, Princess?"

Standing from her chair, Peach feigned a show of bravery. "Do I have choice, Oh Great and Terrible Bowser, Kidnapper of Princesses and Enemy of Plumbers?"

Bowser nodded. "Excellent. You will be riding, so you'll need to change. I'll be waiting for you in the courtyard." With that, he bowed to her, turned, and walked out of the hall.

Peach was amused. In all her life, she had never met someone who had treated her this informally. His attitude was refreshing. She supposed this was because Bowser was a king. He wasn't a politician or a nobleman, bound by honor and expediency to show her nothing but carefully cultivated respect, and nor was he a servant, trained and paid to obey her every order. Besides Daisy, who was family, and Mario, who despite his earnest attentions was still in thrall to the throne, Bowser was the closest thing to a friend she had ever had.

Half an hour later, Peach emerged into the central courtyard wearing riding pants and a light jacket. She scanned the area for horses, but there were none to be seen. The mid-morning sun glinting on the cobblestones caused her to squint, and she shielded her eyes with her hand. The handmaids at her side withdrew, leaving her to stand awkwardly by herself. When Bowser called her name, she felt a flash of irritation, but then her eyes fell on the strange creature he led behind him.

Peach didn't know what to make of it. It was large, green, and scaly, but also oddly cute. "This is a Yoshi," Bowser explained to her, pulling the beast to a halt. "It's a type of dinosaur. They're named after the man who domesticated them, but now they all seem to refer to themselves as 'Yoshi.'"

"It's named after the man..." Peach felt an uncomfortable feeling rise in her chest at Bowser's casual reference. She hadn't allowed herself to put much thought into the matter that the Koopa used to be human, and that somehow this was her kingdom's fault. Peach's train of thought was interrupted by the Yoshi, which lowered its head, looked at her, and said, quite distinctly, "Yoshi?"

"Oh my goodness," Peach gasped. She broke into a smile. The Yoshi seemed delighted by her response and pushed its snout into her hands. Peach laughed and scratched between its nostrils. It made a happy sound in its throat like humming.

Bowser beamed, flashing his terrible teeth. He stepped behind Peach, lifted her from the ground, and placed her on the Yoshi's saddle before flipping the reins over the dinosaur's head. He offered them to Peach, and she took the leather straps from his claws.

She looked up at him. "What will you ride?" she asked, curious.

He shook his head. "As if I need to ride anything. Follow me!"

With these words, Bowser dropped to all fours and galloped out of the courtyard. As Peach spurred the Yoshi on to follow him, the Koopa at the drawbridge saluted with their spears.

The wind whipped through Peach's hair as she urged the Yoshi after Bowser. The dinosaur, which ran on two legs, had none of the up-and-down lurching of a horse, and Peach was surprised at how smooth the ride was. She was also amazed at the speed Bowser was able to maintain. Although he tended to waddle on his hind legs, he was almost graceful on all four. Peach noted that his tail did not drag on the ground when he ran, and she felt a tinge of sadness. The only reason Bowser, or any of the Koopas, walked on their hind legs must be to retain some semblance of humanity.

The two finally came to rest under a tree at the edge of a forest. After Peach dismounted the Yoshi, Bowser removed its saddle, allowing it to wander freely. Peach watched the dinosaur shoot out its frog-like tongue to snatch fruit off the nearby bushes while Bowser unpacked their lunch. He unwrapped two glasses and a bottle of wine, which he opened by spearing the cork with one of his claws. He handed Peach a wine glass and poured for her, balancing the large bottle in one hand.

The wine was a deep burgundy, but it sparkled like stars that appeared in the sky before the sun had fully set. Peach sipped it appreciatively. "This is delicious," she laughed. "Everything here is so delicious."

"Try one of these," Bowser said. He tapped the trunk of the tree with the side of his hand, bringing down a small shower of fruit. He caught one that fell directly over Peach's head and handed it to her. The red fruit seemed to shine golden from the inside, like a magic globe.

Bowser sat with crossed legs, his hands on his knees, gazing at the horizon, which was broken by verdant hills. Peach followed his line of sight and noticed what appeared to be the ruins of some great structure on top of one of the hills. It was surrounded by a gray circle of scorched earth. 

"You know," Bowser said, "this kingdom didn't used to be so empty. I was young when the cataclysm hit, so I don't remember much, but we used to have cities filled with tall buildings. Where we are now seems isolated, but there used to be roads connecting this land from coast to coast. Now I don't have much to entertain you with besides the view." He fell silent.

Peach felt as if she should say something, but despite her many years of diplomatic training she could find no words to respond to him. Suddenly the panorama before her seemed hateful, and the fruit in her mouth tasted bitter.

Desperate to find a way to break the heavy atmosphere and change the subject, Peach almost didn't notice the subtle, rhythmic vibration that shook the ground. At first she thought it must be her imagination, but the tremors increased in intensity until her wine glass tipped over and overturned onto the ground.

Peach glanced at Bowser. His eyes darted from side to side in search of the Yoshi, which had disappeared. His knuckles were clenched on top of his knees, and every hair on his mane seemed to stand on end.

"Listen," he whispered to Peach under his breath, climbing to his feet and offering her one of his hands, "you're not going to like this, but we're going to have to – "

His words were cut short by a sudden cacophony of trampled undergrowth as an enormous creature lumbered out of the nearby forest. Bowser froze. Peach felt the urge to scream in terror, but her instincts told her to remain silent. Her eyes watered as she bit her lip.

Peach and Bowser stared at the thing. It was perhaps fifteen feet tall and just as wide. It seemed like a large, brightly colored ball supported by two stubby feet and punctuated by two black eyes, which were uncannily small for a beast of such great girth. It appeared harmless enough until it opened its mouth, a gaping maw filled with hundreds of teeth. Neither Bowser nor Peach dared to move.

Unfortunately, the thing seemed to notice their very lack of motion and stared back at them. It blinked twice, stupidly, and then charged.

Bowser was up in a flash. He ran toward the creature in a straight line and leaped an impossible distance into the air, landing on top of it. He dug his claws into its fleshy forehead and raked them forward, throwing his entire weight into the motion. He tore deep furrows into its head before puncturing its eyes, which popped with twin sprays of viscous yellow fluid.

The creature wobbled on its legs, causing Bowser to lose his balance. He toppled forward, and its mouth caught one of his arms as he fell. Bowser roared, sending plumes of fire from his mouth. The monstrosity clamped down on Bowser even harder.

The battle had taken place in the span of a few dozen seconds, and Peach had remained paralyzed by fear. Now, however, she saw that Bowser would not be able to extricate himself without losing his arm. She felt a warm, mysterious power rising within her, and suddenly, she knew what to do. She stood, pointed at the thing, and whispered, _Burn_.

Tall flames leapt around the enormous creature. It opened its mouth to cry out, dropping Bowser, who rolled through the fire as he fell to the ground. Coming to a stop a few feet in front of the inferno, he stood his ground, but the monster, wailing loud enough to send flocks of birds rising from the forest, turned tail and ran, crashing through the trees and disappearing from sight.

When Bowser returned to Peach, she saw that his scales had saved him from serious injury. "What was that thing?" she asked.

"It was a Goomba. They've been running wild for years now." Having answered, he shook his head and frowned. "Did you just use magic?" His voice was quiet, but his eyes shone with a fierce emotion.

"For the first time, yes," Peach answered brusquely, not wanting to invite any further accusing questions from Bowser. She looked down at the spilled wine soaking into the picnic blanket. "Let's get out of here." Although she was secretly exhilarated at the exercise of her newfound power, the violence of Bowser's fight with the Goomba had unnerved her, and the thick smell of the blood oozing from his arm made her feel sick. The bright afternoon sunlight glinting off his horns hurt her eyes.

 _Some king he is_ , Peach thought bitterly to herself as she watched him tear the blanket into strips to bandage his arm. _He's the king of a wasteland. He's the king of nothing. What am I doing here?_


	10. By the Light of the Moon

Peach stood alone on a balcony overlooking the sea. A full moon hung in the sky to the west. No matter how often she watched the waves, she never saw any signs of an approaching ship. The Mushroom Kingdom had a brisk maritime trade, and the Koopa Kingdom wasn't that far away. According to the maps Bowser had shown her, it was also relatively large, and thus presumably hard to miss. And yet almost three months had passed since he had brought her here. The summer had deepened, and the salty air blowing around her was sticky with humidity.

Bowser seemed as concerned by the Mushroom Kingdom's lack of a response as Peach. He had sent a series of messengers across the ocean, but none had returned. As the weeks passed, he stopped questioning her about the Mushroom Kingdom's level of technology and starting drilling her on the politics of her kingdom. He would stay up late with her, taking notes and guzzling coffee. Before long, he stopped sending messengers and started sending spies, and his questions turned from politics to magic, although the topic clearly irritated him.

Everyone in the castle was unflaggingly kind to Peach. On occasion, other noble Koopa, who were almost as large and ferocious-looking as Bowser, would visit. They would tell her stories about where they lived and occasionally escort her in fantastic machines to their own castles. After an extended stay with Ludwig, a Koopa sprouting a mop of aggressively bright blue hair, Peach demanded that Bowser teach her the written language of his kingdom. He had readily agreed; and, with that knowledge, the castle's library was opened to her.

Peach read through the histories housed there, amazed to find her own people described as barbarians. The Koopa Kingdom had apparently been content to develop its civilization without making advances on nearby countries. To her amazement, the Koopa had explored and mapped more of her continent than she had ever dreamed existed. Up until at least fifteen years ago, their kingdom had maintained a network of diplomatic relations, and their strongest ties were with their closest neighbor, the Mushroom Kingdom.

Or at least that's what the books said. Peach had never heard of such a thing in her life. Could this be some sort of plot on the part of Bowser and his minions? Peach doubted it. After all, the illustrations that accompanied the text depicted humans, not turtles. It was more likely that Bowser was telling the truth, and that she and her people had been lied to. In any case, a mystery was most certainly afoot, but the keys to solving it were at home in the Mushroom Kingdom. She could do nothing here, trapped by the ocean in this castle.

She sighed and continued to stare out at the sea. She heard Bowser approach. His awkward upright posture ensured that he could not go anywhere without making noise. He stood beside her and crossed his arms over his chest but did not speak.

"When are you going to let me go home?" she asked him.

Bowser barked a laugh. "And here I was, thinking you're pretty smart for someone who favors pink so strongly. Did you miss something somewhere along the line? I kidnapped you. You're stuck here."

"I'm coming to believe that you never had any intention of starting a war. Why did you go through the trouble of kidnapping me? Obviously it isn't serving whatever purpose you had in mind. Why don't you let me go home? I might even be able to help you."

Bowser frowned. "Has it ever occurred to you that there are people in the Mushroom Kingdom who don't want you to go home? Why do you think no one has come to rescue you?"

"What exactly are you suggesting?"

"I'm suggesting that I don't think it's safe for you to go back to your kingdom. Don't you think the idea has occurred to me to take you there myself in order to make an open threat to the king? We could leave in the morning and be back before dinner. But something's not right. Everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom seems to have forgotten you ever existed. That's why no one has come to rescue you."

Bowser's voice was not angry or vindictive. Could he be telling the truth? Was such a thing possible?

Peach shook her head. "Mario hasn't forgotten me. Mario will rescue me."

Bowser sighed. "Yes, I suppose he will rescue you. I received word about a month ago that a young man asking after you had washed up on a distant shore of the kingdom. I gave orders that he was to be sent here immediately, but he's avoided capture and tends to be more inclined to fight than to talk. He seems to be making his way to us, slowly but surely. He should be here any day now."

Peach's control over her temper finally broke. "And why haven't you told me?" she asked, her voice rising with her anger. "Why haven't you told me about any of this? What in the world do you gain by keeping this information from me? You act friendly, but I really am just a hostage to you, aren't I?"

Bowser winced. "But you're so young, I thought..."

"I am not young! And who are you to judge? You look like some terrible dragon, but you're not much older than I am, are you? You think I'm young? You're too young to rule a kingdom. And even if you're not, it's not like your super-advanced technology is getting you anywhere, anyway. What are you even going to do when Mario gets here?"

"I suppose I'll let him rescue you. Every princess needs a knight, after all. This terrible dragon will fight him a little, you know, cough up a few fireballs, to make him feel like he's won something. And then the two of you can swim back across the ocean, for all I care."

Peach was surprised by the bitterness in his voice. "And what will you do, once Mario has rescued me?" she asked.

Bowser was silent for a long while as he gazed steadily out over the ocean.

"I would kidnap you again. And again, and again. No matter how many times he rescued you, I would keep kidnapping you."

Peach looked up at Bowser, but he continued to watch the moon float over the waves.


	11. The Moment of Truth

Peach was roused from sleep early the next morning by Bowser, who had barged into her room. The pale light of dawn had just begun to stream over the horizon. He was at her bedside almost before she had a chance to sit up.

"Mario is on his way," he announced. "He should arrive within an hour or two. I apologize for waking you, but I imagine you'd like to greet him. His help is going to be crucial for us, and I'd prefer it if he didn't attack my staff. Come on, get up."

Peach looked at Bowser. His hair was wild, and his eyes were rimmed with red, as if he hadn't slept at all.

Peach was surprised to find that she cared more about what Bowser had been doing during the past two or three hours than she cared about what Mario had been doing for the past two or three months. She chided herself before springing out of bed.

An hour later, Peach stood with Bowser on a balcony overlooking the castle's main courtyard. She sipped slowly from a cup of tea as she watched the slow ascent of the late summer sun. Bowser paced, the morning light glinting off his horns.

Suddenly Peach heard screaming below. A small group of Koopas ran through the main gate. They cried out for the drawbridge to be raised. Bowser flew to the railing of the balcony. A party of soldiers ran to the machinery that operated the portcullis, but they were too late.

Mario charged through the stone arch on a Yoshi. When he reached the middle of the courtyard, he leapt off his mount. He was no longer the shy young man who had repaired the pipes in the basement of Peach's castle. His adventuring had turned him every bit into the ideal image of a hero. The red and yellow cape that framed his muscular figure made him appear even more dashing. He was still wearing the floppy red embroidered hat Peach had given him for his birthday, although it was soiled and tattered beyond belief.

One of the soldiers took a step toward Mario, who faced the Koopa and snapped his fingers, engulfing his adversary in a blaze of flames. Other Koopas rallied behind their screaming comrade, but Mario attacked them as well.

Peach was so stunned that she dropped her teacup, which shattered on the stone floor of the balcony. She looked up Bowser, who was staring dumbfounded at Mario's sudden onslaught.

"Bowser," she said, her voice as hard as steel. "Stop this. Now."

Bowser roared. The fighting came to an immediate halt as everyone turned to look at him. He jumped over the balcony railing and crashed down into the courtyard. The ground shook when he landed.

"Mario!" Peach cried from the balcony.

Mario shot a glance at her, but his eyes were hard, and he quickly turned his attention to Bowser.

"So you're the monster that kidnapped the princess," Mario said, his face twisted into a bitter smile. "I've come to rescue her, and I'll kill you if you try to stop me."

"A murderer like you has no right to touch the smallest hair on her head," Bowser responded. "You will stand down!"

Mario brought his hands into a strange position in front of his face and began to whisper the words of a spell. Peach yelled Mario's name again, but the last syllable of her voice was drowned out by the noise of a rapidly approaching engine.

Bowser's hovercraft, piloted by Ludwig, maneuvered its way through the castle gate. Koopa soldiers dove out of the way. Before it came to a halt, Luigi jumped out and ran towards Mario.

"Mario! Stop this right now! We've got to find the princess! She's in terrible danger!"

Daisy alighted from the hovercraft in a flash of petticoats. "The king has been assassinated!" she yelled. "Everyone in the entire kingdom is under some sort of spell! Toadsworth has – "

"Toadsworth has what?"

An eerie voice floated above the courtyard. With a crack of thunder, High Magician Toadsworth appeared, suspended in the air. He laughed. His robes swirled around him.

"It seems you've uncovered my plot," he leered, addressing Daisy. He pointed at her, and lightning flashed from his finger. Luigi sprinted and jumped in front of Daisy, taking the blow. He fell to the cobblestones unconscious, his clothes smoking.

Mario stepped forward, confronting Toadsworth. "You're the reason no one in the kingdom paid any attention to Peach's disappearance!"

Without giving his opponent time to reply, Mario shot a stream of fireballs at Toadsworth, who deflected them with a wave of his hand.

"Indeed," the High Magician laughed. Another gesture of his hand sent a wave of energy across the courtyard, causing Mario and the Koopa soldiers to fall to the ground. "And how strange it is to find myself here in the Koopa Kingdom again, after so many years. I was certain I had blotted this wretched place from memory. It's a pity the king had trouble forgetting."

"If I can kill that king," he continued, his eyes flashing, "then I suppose I should make an even sweep of things and get rid of this king as well."

Peach, who had ducked behind the balcony railing when she heard Toadsworth's voice, felt her heart fill with an overwhelming rage as these words echoed across the courtyard. She clenched her fists and knelt so that she would be able to see over the rim of the balcony. Below her, Mario rose to his feet and glared at Toadsworth.

"You lie!" he screamed.

"Alas, but I do not!" Toadsworth seemed to be enjoying himself. "This kingdom is the only one in the world that could have stopped me, but unfortunately its citizens seem to be strangely incapacitated." He laughed.

Ludwig, who had been biding his time, launched himself from the hovercraft. Toadsworth twisted his chin, and the Koopa was engulfed by a spray of dark light. A moment later his paralyzed body bounced off the hull of the hovercraft and landed on the ground with a heavy thud.

"The Koopa Kingdom slowly stretched its way across the continent, bringing back the resources and knowledge of every civilization it has found," Toadsworth said, addressing Mario. "And why did its former king do this? For the mere satisfaction of enlightenment? I think not. They are a threat to us. Why should the Mushroom Kingdom be secondary to this slag race of cretins? Unfortunately, the former ministers of the kingdom did not approve of a full-scale attack, and neither did the king. I have taken care of them, but I still need Princess Toadstool. How convenient that you have already come to my aid in rescuing her."

Peach, who had been listening to the High Magician in mounting horror, suddenly caught sight of a flash of shining light. Bowser had taken advantage of the showdown between Mario and Toadsworth to sneak around behind the Koopa soldiers, and now he raced toward the floating Toadsworth from behind. Mario caught sight of Bowser, and, seeing the approaching menace reflected in the plumber's wide eyes, Toadsworth spun around just as Bowser leapt into the air to tackle him. In the impossible space of an instant, he raised his hand and sent a black flash of magic towards the Koopa king.

"No!" Peach screamed, and Bowser was instantly shielded by an iridescent barrier. Toadsworth's magic bounced off this wall of light and struck him full in the face. Flashing violent colors of crimson, the High Magician plummeted to the ground as Bowser sailed over him. Toadsworth screamed in terrible agony before bursting into an explosion of sparks and spores.

Everything was silent for a moment, and no one moved. Then, suddenly, an awesome flash of white light burst from the space where Toadsworth had fallen. It radiated outwards, blinding everyone in the courtyard. Peach threw her arm in front of her face to shield her eyes. With the brightness came an immense silence followed by a sound like the pealing of bells.

When Peach felt the sting of the light recede, she lowered her arm and opened her eyes. She couldn't believe what she saw.

Facing Mario in the courtyard below was not an enormous dragon but a young man. Although he retained his horns and his unnaturally red hair, his scales and shell had transformed into a suit of armor that gleamed in the sun. He stood a full head over Mario, whose overalls and cape suddenly seemed puny and insignificant.

Bowser stared at his hands, which he had brought up in front of him, and then looked around in wonder. All of the other Koopa in the courtyard had been similarly transformed. Finally Bowser looked up at Peach. She blinked, unsure of what to do, and then waved.

Bowser burst into a wide smile and saluted her broadly. He then stepped forward. Perhaps because he was not used to his new legs, he overbalanced and tumbled to the ground. Beside the hovercraft, Luigi snorted laughter. Daisy, amused at Luigi's impropriety, began to laugh softly. Mario, overwhelmed at the sudden turn of events, put his hand to his mouth in an effort to suppress his own laughter. Bowser, sitting in full armor on the cobblestones of his courtyard, threw his head back and roared laughter at the sky.

One of the Koopa soldiers let out a cheer, which swelled as others joined in. Peach looked down on the scene and smiled so hard that her cheeks began to hurt. One of her maids, a pretty young girl in a flowing lavender dress, hugged her from behind before grabbing her hand to lead her downstairs.


	12. Happily Ever After

It was late afternoon in the Koopa Kingdom. Bowser stood in front of the full-body mirror in Peach's old room. His face was so close to the glass that his nose almost touched its surface. He put the pad of an unclawed finger on the thin skin under his eye and pulled down. It was strange to him that his face was so pliable. A sheaf of red hair escaped from behind his ear and fell across his face. How annoying.

Bowser had spent most of his life vaguely wishing to be human. Now that his wish had been realized, he couldn't be more displeased. Several months ago, Princess Peach had gone back to the Mushroom Kingdom to mourn the death of her father and to do what she could for her people. Meanwhile, he had taken advantage of the energy and enthusiasm that had spread through his kingdom after Toadsworth's curse had been broken to launch a massive reconstruction effort. The old roads were being repaired, and new buildings were rising in the old, ruined cities. His soldiers, armed with weapons their newly flexible fingers had no trouble operating, were finally driving the island's dangerous wildlife away from inhabited areas.

Even without an enormous spiked shell weighing him down, Bowser found that he was easily exhausted. Being human took some getting used to. Apparently, humans couldn't jump from great heights without getting injured, and they had to bathe more than once a week. When he swallowed food without chewing, he would choke. Getting dressed and undressed was a huge pain. His fingers were constantly getting squashed by machinery. Looking in the mirror, which reflected the late afternoon sunlight into his face, Bowser was pleased to note that his teeth were still sharp, and he had retained his horns, the birthright of the royal family. If nothing else, at least he could still breathe fire.

Bowser rarely had time to be alone like this. All throughout the fall and winter, he had been busy restoring his kingdom. Since Peach had returned home, he had nothing better to do than to attend a constant stream of meetings while touring the country to oversee various projects. He had sent a diplomatic team to the Mushroom Kingdom, and their efforts at forming an alliance between the two kingdoms seemed to be going well, yet Bowser had not attempted to contact the new queen directly. As winter ceded to spring, he still had not been able to find an excuse to visit her. There was not a day that went by when he did not think of her, however; in the few free moments he was able to wring from the day, he somehow found himself in her old room.

Suddenly, he heard a sharp crack behind him. He spun around and caught a whiff of a sweet floral scent. A second later, Peach materialized next to the window. The rays of the sun, which had just started to set, sparkled brilliantly on the jewels of her small crown.

Bowser was mortified to be caught in such a private moment. "What are you doing here?" he roared.

Peach laughed. "I should ask you the same thing. You've been so busy that you haven't even written a letter to me, and here I find you alone in front of a mirror!"

"I – " Bowser started, embarrassed to find that no words of explanation jumped into his head.

"Well," Peach said, walking toward him, "I just figured out how to jump from one place to another. Magic is quite fascinating, really."

Bowser felt his cheeks burning, a sensation he had never experienced before. "And just what did you come here to do?"

Peach grinned. "I came to kidnap you."

"I'd like to see you try." Bowser laughed, but he found it difficult to keep his voice steady. Peach was standing so close to him, and he couldn't tear his eyes away from hers. In the soft golden light, her hair shone like honey, and her eyes were as deep and blue as the sea. Bowser could feel his heart beating in his throat.

"I bet I wouldn't have to try very hard." Peach reached up with both hands and took hold of his horns. She brought his face down to hers and kissed him.

How amazing it was when her lips met his. Bowser stepped forward and encircled Peach with his arms, drawing her close to him. How wonderful it was that his body matched up so perfectly with hers. When their kiss ended, Bowser held her tightly.

"I thought you would have hated me," he said.

"I did. For awhile, anyway. But then I couldn't stop thinking about you. And it made me so mad that you never came to visit! Even though you could leave in the morning and be back by dinner."

"What about Mario?"

"Don't be silly. I never got irritated if I didn't see Mario for a few days."

"It's been a few months," Bowser corrected her.

Peach smiled and kissed the stubble at his jaw. "I've been busy."

"So you've come to kidnap me," Bowser said, finding it increasingly difficult to talk. "What exactly are you planning to do with me?"

"I think we should get married. It would be strategically convenient."

"Ah," Bowser said, grinning as he kissed her forehead. "A political marriage. Your proposal is unexpected but not without merit. I will have to give it careful consideration. You'll have to excuse me, but I must consult my ministers."

Peach laughed. "Of course. But first I'm going to kidnap you."

"Will Mario come save me?"

"You foolish man. Are you ready to go?"

"Not yet."

With that, Bowser drew Peach to him and kissed her again. Against the light of the setting sun, they formed a perfect silhouette of two lovers, one topped with a crown and the other with horns.


End file.
